Stand the Lonely
by Cruxis' Kingdom Heart Cherubim
Summary: Jack wanders aimlessly after years of not being seen. In the process, finding someone who has endured an even lonelier existence then himself. His words mean little for years until the winter spirit realizes just what this thing is that someone can wait several millennia for and be content to wait even more if it meant receiving it again.


**Writing new fanfics is a great way for new story ideas! This thing just popped out of nowhere when I was writing 'Breaking From The Barren World.' There really should be more stories for this series and I couldn't help but write more for it...I suck at dialogue though uggggh.**

 **I don't own Sands of Destruction or Rise of the Guardians...Which sucks!**

Jack flew aimlessly in the sky, gripping his staff tight with anger and frustration. Once again, his actions went unnoticed, bringing snow storms and blizzards all throughout the country. Winter was here, but no one seemed to care about the one who created it.

Angrily, he flew down into a forest of blackened trees. There was no one around for miles, nothing but a blanket of snow in an endless field of white. A gentle, blue glow lit up the barren forest. A full moon tonight, but even the Man in the Moon sought to ignore the young winter spirit. It wasn't anything new, but it still brought grief to the boy who had no one.

"Why..." he whispered, mostly to himself.

"Why what?"

The sudden appearance of a voice startled Jack from his musings as he jumped back with fright. Standing before him was a young man, a boy much like himself, wearing a strange blue and black outfit. His hair was red, blazing almost painfully bright against the cold snow.

"Can..." Jack spoke, voice almost non-existent, "Can you see me?"

The boy titled his head, blank stare fixated on Jack, "Yes, I can."

Joy creeped into his heart as he jumped, twirling around the strange boy, cheering 'he can see him!' until his voice was almost gone. A small smile found it's way onto the boy's face, a flicker of something inside his dull, blue eyes.

The winter spirit slowly brought his hand to the other's shoulder, grinning with delight when his hand didn't pass through him. He did notice how the boy didn't even flinch at his touch, even though his body temperature was below freezing for an average human.

"You don't seemed bothered by the cold..."Jack said, taking note of the boy's thin clothing, "Are you sure you're okay?" He didn't want his new friend to freeze to death because he wasn't wearing enough clothing.

A hand was brought onto his head, like a father patting his son for doing a good job at school, making Jack feel like a child again. He was smiling a tiny grin, "You don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine."

Jack eyed him suspiciously, he didn't seem like his was a spirit, but he obviously wasn't human and he didn't know what to make of him. Not to mention he was treating the spirit like a little kid. He might look and behave like one, but he has been alive for 300 years.

Near lifeless eyes wandered around the clearing, taking in every detail of the area before being drawn back to Frost. Sadness seemed to overtake his entire being, "Are...you lonely?"

It was a simple question, but it brought back ever negative emotion Jack felt since the man in the moon gave him life. Three centuries of loneliness came back full force and came pouring out of him. He told the other everything, finally having someone who was there and wanted to be with him, even if they haven't known each other for more than an hour.

Having someone to vent to was very therapeutic.

Jack sighed,having finished with his story, "I just wish I could be noticed like all the other spirits, but even they ignore me most of the time when they're not angry at something I did."

He didn't notice the other's expression, as his mind was else where, absentmindedly creating the delicate frost patterns with his mere touch.

"Don't worry." Jack looked up to see the other boy watching the stars, "One day you'll find it. The one thing that brings you joy simply from it's existence, that'll make all those years of waiting worth it."

A great sadness echoed from his voice, the one emotion he had no problem expressing. An ancient, and lonely emotion Jack knew all too well. It was like looking at himself, those first few years of his life when he discovered not a single soul could even sense his presences. The other spirits might not count, considering how they only tolerate him because they have to, and never taking anything further.

There were other traces of something he couldn't quite idenitify but it made the boy's sadness all that much greater.

"Have you...found it. That thing that made the wait worth it?" Jack asked, curious but mindful of the other's suffering. The blank look returned, "Yes...I have...Such a long time ago..." he said, flat and dull.

"300 hundred years may seem like an eternity to you, yet here I am. Someone who has existed since the very beginning of creation."

Jack's jaw dropped, 'that long!?' What kind of spirit is this guy?

"I am not a spirit." It was said as flatly as everything else, but left no room to question it, "I am what you call the Destruct Code. My only purpose in this world is to destroy it upon the will of one who wishes it."

Destroy the world? "H-how... Why..." He was angry, and upset. This world may have thrown him away and abandoned him but he had some love left behind.

"It is not me to decides when this world shall end, I am merely a means to an end."

The white-haired boy remained silent, unsure of what to think. A person who had the ability to annihilate everything, who had that kind of power but essentially couldn't control when and where it becomes active. Even Jack had more disciple over winter than him and it saddened him more than he realized.

To be used for a purpose like that, did he even have an option?

Regardless, he smiled, "Even for someone like me with such a lonely existence found a much brighter reason to endure. And one day you'll find it."

* * *

Several years had passed, but Jack remember every detail of the conversation. How could he possibly forget, when he's got nothing else to do amongst his duty but remember. The words brought him hope, that perhaps he was right and one day he'll find something precious. Doubt began to creep in as the years passed.

Jack still visited him, should he ever stumble across him in his travels around the globe. The boy was a tricky one to find despite his rather odd choice of clothing.

Soon he found himself occupied by Pitch and the battle that ensued against the nightmare king that all thought of the Destruct Code fled his thoughts. Even long after the battle had been won did the experience escape him. The memory returning just as he realized everything the boy said had come true.

He now had something to live for, something he would give anything for, even if he had to live another hundred years alone.


End file.
